Are soldiers suing 3M over defective earplugs?

June 1, 2022 - Around 290,000 U.S. soldiers are suing 3M over defective earplugs. Unfortunately, that is what happened to thousands of veterans and active service members of the United States Military who are filing 3M Earplugs lawsuits. The protective equipment in question: 3M’s Combat Arms Earplug, Version 2.

Will 3M earplugs go bankrupt?

Facing thousands of lawsuits from U.S. service members who said 3M earplugs failed to protect their hearing, the manufacturing giant announced it is committing $1 billion to a trust to resolve the suits — and that Aearo Technologies, the 3M unit that made the plugs, is filing for voluntary bankruptcy as part of the plan.

Did 3M earplugs cause tinnitus?

In 2018, 3M agreed to pay $9.1 million to the Department of Justice to resolve the allegations without admitting liability. After the settlement with the federal government, individual service members began filing lawsuits against 3M alleging they wore the defective earplugs that caused them to develop hearing loss and/or tinnitus.

Are 3M earplugs a mass tort?

The first trial resulted in a verdict of $7.1 million for three plaintiffs in April, while the second ended in a victory for 3M in May. 3M is facing more than 230,000 claims by veterans and service members over the earplugs, known as Combat Arms Earplugs Version 2, in the Florida court, in the largest consolidated federal mass tort in U.S. history.